Twins Minor League Report (6/8): Non-Offensive

The day started with news that Kendrys Morales was in the Twins Cities taking a physical. At an 11:00 press conference, the Twins made the signing official. Though he may not play much in the next week or so, he is certainly a potent bat who will be able to hit in the middle of the Twins lineup.

Sam Deduno struggled with his control in a manner we haven’t seen too often the last two seasons. The bullpen didn’t help, and the Twins fell to the Houston Astros, which has one of the league’s best records since mid-May, by a score of 14-5. They will now begin a long road trip on Monday against the Blue Jays.

However, this is the Minnesota Twins Minor League Report, so let’s see what happened in the Twins farm system Sunday:

There wasn’t much offense for the Red Wins who fell behind 3-0 after two innings. Logan Darnell started and went 5.1 innings. He gave up four runs on eight hits. He walked three and struck out two. AJ Achter came in and got the final two outs in the sixth inning. He went 2.2 perfect innings, striking out three.

The team managed just six hits. Eric Farris continues to do well at the top of the Red Wings lineup; in this game he went 1-3 and walked twice. Dan Rohlfing went 2-3 and was also hit by a pitch.

For the eighth time in his last nine starts, lefty Taylor Rogers provided the Rock Cats with a quality start. In six innings, he gave up three runs (2 earned) on five hits. He walked two and struck out three. Jim Fuller came on for the seventh inning and struck out two. Cole Johnson got the eighth inning, giving up four runs on four hits and a walk to take the loss.

Matt Koch was the lone Rock Cat with more than one hit. He went 2-4. Nate Hanson was 1-3 with a walk and his 13th double. Eddie Rosario was 1-3 with a walk. Kennys Vargas drove in two runs. In his rehab appearance, Sam Fuld went 1-3 with a walk and played eight innings.

Jason Wheeler was terrific again, but his outing lasted one batter too many (in retrospect, of course). The lefty went seven shutout innings and gave up just three hits and a walk. However, he came out for the 8th inning and gave up a leadoff single before coming out of the game. Unfortunately, that runner came around to score, as did two more Hammerheads. The Miracle scored two in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough.

Wheeler was terrific. He was charged with the one run on four hits and a walk over seven innings. He struck out eight. Brandon Peterson came on and gave up two runs on two hits. Steven Gruver got the final two outs but only after an inherited runner scored.

The Miracle managed just five hits as well. The two runs came in the top of the ninth when Jorge Polanco hit his fourth home run of the year. Mike Gonzales added his ninth double.

Ethan Mildren put together one of his best starts of the season for the Kernels. He gave up two runs on six hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out six. He improved to 2-3. Alex Muren struck out two in two perfect innings. Todd Van Steensel came on to protect a one-run lead in the ninth. He gave up one hit and hit one batter, but he struck out two to hang on to the lead and record his fifth save.

The Kernels scored three runs but had just five hits. Jason Kanzler went 2-3 with his fifth triple. Joel Licon was 1-1 with a walk and a sacrifice fly.

The win puts the Kernels at 28-35 this year.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAYTwins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Jason Wheeler, Ft. Myers MiracleTwins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Dan Rohlfing, Rochester Red Wings